Be Nice
by macawtopia
Summary: When James starts treating Lily rather more nicely than usual, she concludes that it MUST be some sort of evil-reverse psychology plot... so she chooses to retaliate. Or at least, she would, if she could figure out exactly how to do so without coming off as completely insane, or if hating the toerag wasn't becoming increasingly difficult with each kind act he completed...
1. Beginnings

Hiya folks! As you're _probably_ already aware, I own nothing but the plot =]

* * *

It all began when Lily had approached, no, _stomped_ up to him in the library. She seemed to be in a particularly unpleasant mood, but James had still been glad to see her…

"Hiya Evans! What brings _you_ here on this lovely fall afternoon?"

And it _was_ a lovely afternoon too, even inside the quiet old library. The light chill that had fallen over the grounds was undetectable indoors, but sunlight streamed in through the windows. From where James was sitting, this warm afternoon sunlight caught Lily's hair beautifully: she was positively glowing. She was looking _so_ lovely in fact, that James wasn't overly upset when she replied, "I could very well ask you the same question, _Potter_ – I can't recall the last time I saw _you_ in the library. It's one of the reasons I come here so often."

Lily narrowed her eyes at the sight before her as she spoke: Between his tangle of unruly black hair, un-tucked shirt, pushed up sleeves and the pile of colourful Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans spilled out on his desk, James looked more out of place amongst the ancient shelves than a fish in a tree.

"Well, _that_ uncalled for," James replied with good natured grin, "Especially as I'm nothing but perfectly _delightful_ when you're around!"

She shot him a look, "Delightful my arse. Now Potter, I –"

"I completely agree Evans!" James cut in, happily popping a bright blue bean into his mouth, "Your arse _is_ delightful! Eugh, ocean water…."

"Look Potter," Lily interjected, "I _really_ don't have time for this right now. I need to study for Charms and you're _in my spot_."

James blinked. He blinked again but seemed unable to register her words. Finally, "Er… _pardon_?"

Lily let out a little sigh, but elaborated, "Not that it's any of your business, but I've been studying at the same corner desk at the library ever since first year. For every test, and every exam… I learned it _all_ while sitting right there." She gazed at the worn wooden desktop with a reminiscent fondness. James stifled a snort.

"Really?" he asked, covering amusement with feigned interest. Lily glared as James proceeded to straighten up in his seat and ran his hands up and down the worn wooden desk with mock reverence. Then something seemed to occur to him, and he looked down at his chair with wide hazel eyes, "Hang on… does that mean that your delightful arse has been gracing this very seat for nearly a _decade_ now?"

"_Enough_ with the delightful arse thing already!" Lily broke in, with her hands balled so tightly that her knuckles were going white, "Potter, I _need_ to study."

"So?" James looked up at the irked redhead unconcernedly, "Study then."

"But… you're in my _spot_!"

Now, Lily realized that she sounded a little ridiculous, but she couldn't help it. She honestly felt loads more confident writing tests when she prepared for them from the security of her little corner desk. The little boost of routine and normalcy she got from sitting in the same spot as usual gave her the confidence she needed to march into exam rooms unafraid. And to lose that nice confidence on account of James _bleeding_ Potter was simply unacceptable. _Unacceptable_!

James, for his part, realized that Lily looked more than just a little irritated – she looked completely dismayed. So, despite that little voice in his head that was pleading with him to crack a terrible joke about her having a wand stuck up her, erm… delightful bits, he shrugged. "Alright Evans. If it means that much to you, I'll move."

And with that he flicked his wand over his parchment twice, muttering softly. The effect was immediate: all of his quills, parchment and ink stood up and began to shuffle about until they had formed a neat pile. Stuffing the lot of them into his book bag, and enchanting his Bertie Botts beans to float in a little cloud above his head, James offered the bemused Head girl a parting smile, and began searching for a new place to study.

* * *

The next morning during breakfast, Lily woke up much later than usual, on account of having to completely redo a Transfiguration project the night before. Lily had made a fatal error in one of her earlier calculations and had to discount _all_ of the work she had completed from that point and start again – a mind numbingly monotonous task that had taken her until five in the morning. In fact, she was awake even longer than the Marauders, who finally left the corner of the common room that was unofficially reserved for them at one in the morning.

So, naturally, Lily wasn't exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed when she dragged herself out of bed. To make things worse, by the time she got downstairs the breakfast spread had been cleared away and it was time for first period. As she hurried to get to Potions class on time, Lily began to very seriously consider placing a Cheering charm on herself, if only to spare her classmates from having to deal with a royal grump. Oh, this was going to be a _long_ morning, she could already tell.

She slipped into to class just five minutes late, and was horrified to discover that all of her friends had already paired up for the day's brewing assignment. Slughorn was in the back storage room for the moment, allowing her some time to settle in without him noticing. Accordingly, Lily hurried to find a potions partner for the day.

"Sorry, we thought you were out of service for the morning," her friend Mary said with an apologetic smile as Lily tiptoed over, "I guess I should have known that you'd _never_ miss a class, Lils."

Lily, who had resigned herself to the inevitability of having a miserable day, sighed, "It's alright. But we have an even number of students in this class, so d'you know who the other –"

But she was cut off by a deep, familiar voice calling her from one of the desks at the back of the room, "Oi Evans! Come here: I don't have a partner yet either."

Holding in a cringe, Lily turned to face her addresser, "Thanks, Potter, for the offer, but I – "

However she was once again cut off. This time, it was by Slughorn who re-emerged from the storage room with his arms full of what looked like a tremendously long snakeskin. "Oh, hello there Miss Evans!" he greeted her happily as he placed the skin on his desk, "I'm so glad you're here, because I just knew that you'd hate to miss a chance to brew Fever Tonics!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, professor." Lily muttered.

He had noticed her absence. Blast.

"Oh, I see that you'll have to be partners with young Mr. Potter," Slughorn continued, appraising the situation before him with what looked to Lily, like a sadistic smile, "Should be interesting – I can't recall the last time that you two collaborated."

"That's just because I'm rubbish at Potions," James said, grinning good naturedly at their professor as Lily trudged over to slump into the seat next to his. To Lily, he said, "I've already gathered all the ingredients. So, er… shall we?"

He looked at her earnestly, and Lily decided that the thing to do was to ignore her troubles and focus on brewing the potion. Her stomach growled in protest.

"Alright, let's get started," she complied. Yes, this was going to be a very long morning indeed.

* * *

And so it begins... Thanks for reading, and hope ya liked it =]

Also, the cover art belongs to the wonderful Anxious Pineapples on deviantart - check her out!


	2. Talking to the Enemy

"Alright, let's get started," Lily began briskly. Yes, this was going to be a _very_ long morning indeed.

"The first thing we need," she instructed, "is a cup of dilute Grindylow spit, brought to a boil…"

To Lily's surprise, James didn't even _try_ to shirk off work or get off topic. Instead, he merely nodded and began to measure out the spit.

"Er, yeah, like that."

James chuckled, "Lily, I'm not _challenged_ you know. I am capable of using a measuring cup when I have to."

Lily rolled her eyes. Then, not really feeling optimistic but trying her luck anyway, Lily continued with the instructions, "Next we need the two chopped rabbit's livers."

"How finely do we need to chop them?"

Lily felt her eyes widen, and James held in a snort: she couldn't have looked more surprised if he'd told her that he was really Napoleon re-incarnated to conquer the wizarding world.

"I, er…" Lily swallowed, then glanced down into their potions book, "It says that coarsely chopped is fine, but we need to make sure that all of the juices get into the cauldron."

"Sounds good! I'll chop one if you'll do the other."

"You mean you... I mean, _sure_, that sounds alright," Lily sputtered, then regained her composure, "But Potter?"

"Yeah?"

He glanced up from his rabbit's liver to beam disconcertingly at her, and Lily just shook her head, "Nothing. Never mind."

* * *

James continued to follow Lily's instructions to the T after that. And as the potion got going, following the colour changes and producing the hazy yellow clouds that the textbook described, Lily began to feel a bit better about life. Personally, she had never understood why people hated Potions with so much passion. It was like baking: if you followed the instructions and gave the Potion your full attention – and yes, as corny as it sounded, _love_ - it would turn into something worthwhile.

If you didn't, you ended up having your cauldron erupt fluffy pink foam all over you and everyone within a three foot radius of you – as Peter and Sirius' now had.

Just as the explosion went off, James surprised Lily by saying, "By the way Evans, I've got something for you."

Lily felt a spark of irritation: she had _just_ started enjoying brewing the potion, and the last thing she needed was for Potter to start acting like _Potter_ again.

We don't have _time_ for a silly pick-up line, Potter," she snapped, "The potion will turn orange any second, and when it does we have to be ready to start stirring it in a clockwise direction for exactly three minutes, or else-"

James waved a hand, "Yeah yeah, I'll stir it for as long as you like, but first, look at this…"

He took a cursory look around to make sure that Slughorn was still occupied by his friends' foamy mess, and then pulled a palm-sized paper bag out of his bookbag. Pointing his wand at it, he muttered a soft _Engorgio_, and it grew by about a tenfold.

After passing the parcel to Lily, James waited expectantly. The bag was surprisingly warm in Lily's hand, and when she opened it and looked inside, she felt a deep joy bubble up inside of her.

It was so deep in fact, that she couldn't keep the smile off her face as she whispered, "_Food_…"

And not just _any_ food. The bag was stuffed to burst with warm buttered croissants, muffins, fruit and a magically spill-proof, piping hot cup of tea.

She looked up at James, unbelievingly, "How on _Earth_ did you know how hungry I was?"

Looking somewhat bashful now, James began to stir the potion (clockwise). "S'no big deal." He murmured, looking down into the cauldron, "I just saw you working late last night, then missed you at breakfast. And you're always cranky when you're schedule gets thrown off… figured you could use a pick me up."

"Oh… Well, er, thanks."

James looked up and smiled warmly, his dimples winking at her, "No problem. Now tuck in before Slughorn notices. I know he's in love with you, but if he sees you _eating_ beside a cauldron full of steaming, _contaminating _potion, he'll dock _both_ of the House Points that Gryffindor has left."

"As if you care: you've lost one out of every four House Points that have been docked since first year," Lily replied in a tone that was only mildly reprimanding. Normally she was dead against all forms of rule breaking, but as she reached into the bag and pulled out a small freshly baked pumpkin muffin, she reasoned that it was sometimes justifiable.

James likely agreed: "Lily," he began, "Through the years I have realized that there are _much_ more rewarding things to aim for in life than a large golden cup. _Especially_ when said cup is given to whoever is best at keeping in line and sucking up to the professors. "

"Is that so?"

"Definitely," James replied solemnly, "The cup prevents people from actually _questioning_ any of the rules, or exercising some healthy curiosity… don't you think?"

"I think you just like breaking the rules to cause trouble," Lily rejoined, polishing off her muffin.

James grinned and helped himself to a muffin as well, "If that were true, _dear _Evans, would we be breakfasting together right now? You've got crumbs on your sweater, by the way."

Lily blushed a little bit, brushing the crumbs off quickly. "I suppose you may have a point there, Potter."

"Holy hippogriph! Did I just win an argument with _Lily Evans_?"

"Nah," Lily said with a smile, "I just went easy on you because of the lovely breakfast you brought. Add the cup of dung beetle wings."

"To your tea?"

"To the potion, you _dinglehopper_! It's a good thing you brought me food or I'd be in a _terrible_ mood right now."

"… So the fastidious Lily Evans can be bribed _as well_ as out argued?" James scratched his chin thoughtfully, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes. I'm actually a little disappointed in you, actually."

"Oh, hush you," Lily retorted, but she couldn't help snickering slightly as she began to devour a scrumptious chocolate croissant. It was heavenly: warm tender and sweet happiness with powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Then she inwardly smiled as their potion acquired the tomato red hue that indicated its completion. Reaching under the table to where the brown bag was now concealed, Lily plucked out a strawberry and idly wondered how was it possible for a morning that had started so abysmally to turn out so well.

Then it occurred to her: it was because _James Potter_ had made it better. He had gone out of his way to not only be nice to her, but to remedy her darn near incurable mood.

_What was he playing at?_

Luckily for Lily, she didn't have too long to ponder over his possible motives, because the period was about to end. She spent the last few minutes of the class busying herself by taking very detailed (and completely unnecessary) notes on the potion they had brewed, as well as making a coloured sketch of each step of the brewing process. James, for his part, let her be, and flew a parchment airplane over to Sirius to ask exactly _how_ Peter had managed to screw up their fever tonic quite so badly.

* * *

Thanks for reading!


	3. Take That, Potter!

The following week, Lily made the mistake of mentioning to James that she felt a mild soreness in her throat while they were in a Head Meeting. She had just _known_ that it was the precursor to a cold, and that the full blown unpleasantness of a red, stuffy nose was right around the corner… but despite that she would _never_ have mentioned to James if she could have helped it. He had found about out it by asking her why her voice was huskier than usual, and was it because his presence turned her on a little?

Anyway, the _point_ was that the next morning when Lily took a great gulp of her usual pumpkin juice, she detected a faint warmth and sharpness to it. The sensation of heat only began to increase, hotter and hotter until she felt herself begin to literally steam at the ears and nose, with a shrill whistling sound emanating from her like a tea kettle. It was most unpleasant, but even as Lily screwed her eyes shut and willed the sensation to end, she became aware of the fact that her throat was now crystal clear and pleasantly soothed. She also became painfully aware of what seemed like hundreds of snickering students who were busy ogling her: "_GAAAAAAH_! Somebody is going to _pay_ for this!"

Lily couldn't recall having ever felt so angry: _Someone_ had slipped her a Pepper-up potion. AKA the cure to the common cold.

As soon as she had stopped steaming like the Hogwarts Express, Lily heard her friend Mary let out a small giggle beside her. Lily turned to narrow her eyes, "I'll thank you to keep your laughter to yourself, Mary," she huffed with indignation.

But Mary only laughed louder, "Oh Lily, I always _knew_ your red-head was on fire, but now I've got proof,"

"Naw, that's not it," chimed in Alice from Lily's other side, "She just finally reached her breaking point – I warned her that you can only work _so_ hard before you're head explodes."

"At least _my_ brain isn't _deteriorating_ from lack of use," Lily countered with a sly grin.

But Alice ignored her, "Seriously, Lily, what just happened? D'you reckon it was it a prank?"

Lily shook her head, "No, actually, it wasn't. I reckon it was that _dunderhead_ Potter's way of doing me another favour."

"What?" Mary and Alice asked in unison, so Lily explained everything – from James relenting and letting her have her lucky seat in the library, to the breakfast he'd provided her, to the Pepper-up potion.

"And so," Lily concluded, "I reckon he's trying to use some sort of crazed-niceness reverse psychology on me to drive me up the wall."

But instead of agreeing with her, Alice and Mary exchanged an incredulous look.

"Lily," Alice began, "You already _are_ up the wall."

"She's on the bleeding _roof_," Mary agreed, nodding. "Can you honestly not see that he's being nice to you because he still _likes_ you?"

Lily shook her head vehemently, "You're _wrong_, Mary. You don't know that nutter like _I_ do: Potter's only doing this to _slowly_ drive me insane, and I think it's starting to work too."

"What's starting to work, Evans?"

Lily jumped in her seat, banging her knee on the underside of the heavy wooden table as she did so: James Potter was standing right behind her. Speak of the devil, eh?

Suddenly furious again, she turned and swung her legs over the bench to stand up. Then, looking James right in his _ridiculously_ innocent looking hazel eyes, she growled, "You know _exactly_ what I mean, Potter. And you know what? _Two_ can play this game! So_ just you wait_, because right when you least expect it – _BAM_! (James started, looking somewhat alarmed), I'll have done something wonderfully nice for you."

"Oh!" James' eyes went wide with realization, "No no, Evans, it's not like that at all. You don't have to do _anything_ for me if you don't want to. I was just – "

But Lily wasn't having any of that, "Oh no, Potter. _No_. It will be my _pleasure_." Her smile was somewhat deranged… but James still found it adorable.

"Well, er… thank you, then," he replied, now looking torn between disbelief, confusion, amusement and something else. Something warm.

"No, no," Lily replied, "Thank _you_."

And with that she turned on her heel and began marching off to her first class, realizing as she walked just how completely _mental_ she was coming off as. Bloody hell, Potter's plot was succeeding…

* * *

Lily began her be nice to James campaign by lending him some extra help with his Head duties. The very next afternoon, in fact, he found all of the patrol schedules he had to complete neatly filled out with Lily's signature curly cursive. Plans for Prefect meetings that he was supposed to run started delivering themselves to him at breakfast. And (to James inexhaustible amusement), a house elf had taken to delivering breakfast right to his room every morning, as he was invariably late to wake up.

James wasn't sure exactly how to interpret this turn of events. Now, he'd always known that the perfect, good girl Lily Evans was also certifiably insane (it was one her most lovable traits, in his humble opinion), but this development was _nuts_ even for her. Still, he had to admit that a part of him felt a warm, _wonderful_ glow every time he thought about how all of these little things were coming from her. Lily was thinking about him. No, not only thinking about him, but thinking of ways to make him _happy_. It was more than he had ever hoped for.

But somehow, James knew that having an ersatz niceness contest wasn't the same as genuinely caring about someone. Or _was_ it? He couldn't help but notice the small smile that had graced Lily's beautiful features as he thanked her for quickly looking over his Potions paper. Or how they were no longer breaking down into shouting matches during every conversation, but laughing and complimenting each other instead.

Could Lily possibly be….? No, of course not. Still, it couldn't hurt to find out, could it?

* * *

It was a lazy afternoon in the common room for most students, but work had begun to pile up for those in their NEWT year. There were essays to be edited, tests to study for, spells to practice and potions instructions that had to be memorized. The increasing amount of assignments even had the Marauders indoors working. And so, the four of them were lounging around in their usual squashy armchairs by the window in the Gryffindor Common room, 'doing their homework'. Or rather, Remus was helping Wormtail with homework he'd already completed, Sirius was asleep with his head resting on his arms on the table in front of him, and James was idly wondering if Lily was willing to go so far as write his Charms paper for him, in order to prove that she was a nicer person than he was.

Lily…. _Merlin_ was she ever perfect. She was the smartest, most beautiful and sweetest person he knew. Moreover, her hair sort of smelled like roses. And those eyes… _oh_ those bright emerald eyes of hers… _and_ she was funny and…

That was it. James decided _then and there_ that it was time to do something about the Lily situation.

* * *

And so it _really_ begins =P


	4. A Devious Plot

That was it. James decided _then and there_ that it was time to do something about the Lily situation.

"Er, Padfoot?" he called over to his lightly snoozing best friend, "Padfoot?"

There was no response. So, James pulled out his wand and gently prodded Sirius's nose. Unfortunately for Sirius, James' wand accidentally released a few yellow sparks at him, shocking him in the cheek.

"_Ow_!" Sirius barked, wrinkling his nose and sitting up, his dark hair flopping low over one silvery gray eye. Then both of Sirius' eyes narrowed at his best friend, "_What_?"

James smiled apologetically, "Sorry, mate. It's just… I need your help for something."

"You need help alright," Sirius muttered, rubbing his slightly red cheekbone, "But I think admitting yourself into St. Mungo's would be a better bet than asking _me_ for help. I understand they can work miracles."

James shook his head vehemently, "No, Pads, this is serious."

"No, that's not right," Sirius said, smirking now, "Because _I'm_ Sir-"

"_Don't_!" This came from Remus, who looked up from the textbook he was sharing with Peter with sudden urgency, "For the love of _Merlin_, Sirus, do _not_ crack another Sirius pun: they got old during _first_ year."

Sirius's smirk grew wider, "But Remus, how can a _pun_ be serious? They're just for fun, aren't' they? … Unless of course, they are _Siriusly_ entertaining!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "You're giving me a serious headache."

"Do you mean a _serious_ headache? Or is it a _Sirius_ head-"

Rubbing his temples, Remus shot Sirius a look, "_Both_, mate. It's both."

"Oi Pads, can you annoy Moony later?" James cut in, "I still need your help."

Sirius sighed, and turned to his best friend resignation, "Alright, _fine_. What is it?"

"Well… it's about Evans."

Sirius blinked. Then he closed his eyes and allowed his head to fall slowly back towards the table…

"No, mate, do _not_ go back to sleep! I just have to ask you one thing."

Sirus, head now resting sideways on the table, cracked one eye open, "Yeah?"

James swallowed, unsure of how to ask the question without sounding like a twelve year old. But there was nothing for it but to say: "Er, how can you tell when a girl likes you?"

He regretted saying this the moment the words left his lips, as the other three boys were all suddenly shooting him identical looks of disbelief. Sirius's mouth was open so wide, James was pretty sure he could have fit an apple inside if he wanted to.

"_What the bloody __hell_?"

Remus recovered first, "Well… I guess it does make sense for you to wonder, James," he said kindly, "Seeing as you've only ever had eyes for one girl… it's sort of narrowed your experience."

But Sirius was still staring at his bespectacled friend owlishly. Finally he spoke, "Prongs, mate... _All_ girls like me."

Remus snorted, but James made a small noise of irritation, "Pads, I'm being _serious_ here!"

"How can you when _I'm_ Siri- "

"_DESIST_!"

"Why? Does the big bad wolf have another wittle headache? Poor wittle wolfie."

Remus narrowed his eyes at his dark haired friend, "Do you really think it's wise to provoke a _werewolf_, Pads?"

"You forget that you're only dangerous at your time of the month," Sirius countered, "whereas _I_ can become a great bloodthirsty carnivore _whenever_ I want to."

"Guys, _cut it out_!" James exclaimed, "I just wanted to ask – "

"Stay out of this, _Bambi_." Sirius cut him off once again, "We don't want you getting hurt."

"You're one to talk," Remus retorted, "Bloodthirsty carnivore indeed. You're a _fwuffy wittle doggy_, remember?"

James and Peter couldn't help chuckling at this, and Sirius's expression darkened. "Oh good _Godric_, not _that_ again. You get called a fwuffy wittle doggy just _once_ by hot Hufflepuff chick wandering the grounds and you're labelled for _life_."

"Oh, isn't he precious? Just wook at him! What a sweetie-pie!"

"Say what you will, gentleman," Sirius countered, "But she stroked my head for a good ten minutes, and I got a pretty good view up her –"

"Anyway!" James burst in, "If you _can't_ tell me how to detect a female crush, could you possibly tell me exactly what, er, _moves_ you use on a girl to see if she's interested?"

Sirius shot James a look of one long-suffering: "I _smile_ at her, then she melts. Then we snog."

"_Sirius_!"

"Alright, _fine_!" the handsome boy finally conceded raising his hands, "I'll help you out. I'll give you a _fail proof_ method to see what's in dear Lily's heart. All _you_ have to do is…"

Sirius leaned in closer to James, conveying his plot in a voice barely above a whisper. Remus couldn't hear the words passing between them, but was somewhat unnerved by the smile that evolved on James' face as he listened, a smile that was growing wider and _wider_…

* * *

Lily was on patrol by herself in the dimly lit stone corridor on the third floor, when she heard a soft shuffling noise emanating from the corridor ahead. A student was _out of bed_! The sound was unmistakable to a seasoned patroller like Lily, which is why she was highly confused when she turned into that corridor and didn't see anyone at all.

Raising her lighted wand Lily moved in to investigate, but there was no one but a row of suits of armour, who shrugged with little clanks when Lily turned her wand on them. That was when an ever more very peculiar thing happened: The very long hall carpet Lily had been walking along yanked itself out from under her, resulting in her falling backwards towards the ground with a very loud, "_GAH_!"

But though she came quite close to it, Lily didn't hit the ground. Someone behind her came rushing up out of nowhere, letting out a soft, "_Woah_!" as they caught her from behind. Their arms clasped her firmly around the waist and her back slammed into their front with such force that she could feel the wind get knocked from them.

For a moment, the shock overcame Lily – it had happened so quickly and she had been _so_ sure that she was alone in the dark echoing hallway, that the sheer surprise had her frozen to the spot, heart pounding. "_Merlin_," she whispered, breathing heavily.

The person continued to support Lily's weight, as her feet were caught in the folds of carpet in front of her. And _somehow_, although, she couldn't turn around and take a look at him (and yes, from her current position, she was _relatively_ confidant that her savior was a male specimen), Lily's gut told her that there was only _one_ person who her mystery man could be.

The person leaned in still more, his warm breath steaming her ear slightly as he asked, "Are you alright?"

Feeling very aware of his unmoving arms around her waist, Lily could only murmur, "Yeah, I'm fine." There was something about the way he was holding her – gently but firmly, his body warm against hers in the draughty stone hallway – that made her heat from the inside like a furnace. When he shifted his arms slightly to get a better grip on her, the skin he brushed through her blouse tingled.

"What happened?"

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Lily to think with that low, oddly husky voice in her ear, "I tripped… On the carpet."

Lily half-heartedly shuffled her feet around to regain her footing, but with most of her weight falling on the boy and him maintaining his hold on her, the effort was futile. She stopped trying when the mystery man lifted one hand, almost tentatively, to brush some of her hair behind her ear.

Lily was absolutely transfixed. Her heart was behaving as though it had recently been entered in a race, and she felt the colour rising to her cheeks.

"_How_?"

His lips actually brushed her ear as he said this, and a shiver ran up and down Lily's spine, "Hmm?"

There was a slight chuckle in his voice as he asked, "_How_ did you trip, Lily?" She was pressed up against him so firmly that she _felt_ the vibrations of his laugh as much as she heard it. His fingers were still laced in her hair, and Lily's hand had somehow ended up intertwined with his other hand. The atmosphere of the moment was so intimate and almost _beautiful_ in an inexplicable way, that Lily suddenly felt compelled to turn in his arms, thread her fingers through the messy tangle of black hair she knew she'd find and plant a soft kiss on him… and _that_ was when the voice of reason broke through:

Wait a second, how _had_ she fallen?

With a sudden determination, Lily pushed herself from the boy's arms –somewhat surprised at how readily he relinquished her. Turning to face the wizard behind her, Lily replied "The carpet _shifted_, somehow. _That's_ how I tripped. It was like someone had cast a spell on it."

James- because the boy _was_ in fact, James - automatically reached up to ruffle his hair, "Oh? That's quite peculiar, isn't it?"

Lily narrowed her eyes at him, "Potter, you _didn't."_

James opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say a word, both of them were hit with a massive water balloon from above, "OI! _What_ the –"

"No! It wasn't _Potty_! Stupid silly billy _Lily_! HEEEEEEEE _HEEEEEE_!"

Lily and James whipped their wands from their now sopping robes, Lily shaking her wet locks from her face and James squinting through water-specked glasses, "_Peeves_!"

"Ha _ha_!" the poltergeist roared with laughter and reeled through the air with joy at his handiwork, "Poor wet wittle _Head Bothers_! Hairy Bottoms! Humungous _Bor-_"

"Stupefy."

Lily's spell hit Peeves squarely between the eyes, and he fell to the floor with a loud _THUMP _that made her flinch, "Oh _bugger_: I didn't mean to hurt him!"

"Oh, just _leave_ him… bloody nuisance is pretty much indestructible," James muttered angrily, as she knelt down to make sure that she hadn't badly injured the pest.

"But… Evans," James spoke after a moment's hesitation, "Do you at least believe that I didn't trip you now?"

As Lily stood back up, James was pleasantly surprised to find that she was at least as red as her hair, _and_ that her green eyes were focused exclusively on her shoes, "Yes, of course. I'm sorry I accused you, Potter"

When he said nothing, her eyes flickered up to glance into his, then they fell back to the floor, "Honestly, I'm sorry. I don't know how I could _ever_ thought that you'd –"

But she was cut off but James reaching out and lifting her chin with a finger, until he could into her eyes. "It's alright, Lily. Forget about it."

And he smiled at her. It was a warm smile (James was known for that smile – it was the big, dimpled, and inviting kind that drove girls wild), but Lily suddenly felt rather ill, shivering in her damp robes. How could she just forget about… _whatever_ it was that had just transpired between them? It was as though she could still feel his hands on her, and in her _hair_, with his breath tickling her neck. Even now, she felt a strange magnetism between them, like all she wanted was to close the space between them. Why oh _why_ couldn't she tear her gaze from his?

"Potter, I – "

"Call me _James_, Lily."

"James." It was a nice name. James Potter. _James_. She'd never really noticed before.

Wait, _what_?

Stepping back from him, Lily shook her head slightly, "Er, good bye, then… James."

Still smiling, James waved, "'Till tomorrow!"

And they both went their separate ways. It wasn't until a good five minutes later that either of them remembered to cast a drying spell on themselves.

* * *

There, a nice long chapter for you guys. Hope ya liked it!


	5. Oh, Merlin

Hello everyone! Just a heads up that I'm _likely _going to be updating this story every week until its completion - maybe faster if I get a few reviews? Anyway, thanks for reading!

* * *

"So, did it work?"

"The plan? Yeah, but I had to give Peeves _ten_ wet start fireworks before he'd agree to help me out."

Sirius waved a hand dismissively at his bespectacled friend. They were currently in Divination class, gazing into the indecipherable white mist that was their crystal ball. "Yeah, yeah, of _course_ you did: Peeves is a bloody _goblin_ when it comes to business. But what about _Evans_? Did she agree to go out with you?"

James felt himself redden slightly, "Oh, _that_. Well, er… the truth is, that I didn't _exactly_, you know… _ask_ her to."

"_What_?" Sirius exclaimed, in a voice that was far too loud. He startled four nearby students out of their Divination induced stupor, and James had to smirk as they all began scrambling to write things down on their prediction charts.

James glanced down at his own Divination chart – and it was completely blank. _Oops_... Ah well, time to improvise then.

He grabbed his quill and scribbled the words, "Hospital wing", and "doomed," on it: their Divination professor was completely obsessed with the idea that James was not going to be blessed with his riches and happiness forever, and that his downfall was _just_ around the corner. He sighed: Divination did _wonders_ for the morale, didn't it?

"Hello? Earth to Potter!" Sirius jostled James' arm to regain his attention, "Why in _Merlin's_ name didn't you ask her out?"

"The time wasn't right, Pads," James resumed whispering to his openly appalled best friend, "But - and close your mouth before a fly wanders in, will you? - I _think_ that she might just like me back."

Sirius rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, "That's _lovely_, Prongs, is that what you wrote in your diary last night?"

"No actually, I was writing about how irritating and unhelpful my git of a best mate is."

Looking mildly affronted, Sirius swatted James over the head, "What are you talking about? The plan I gave you was sheer brilliance! your _execution_ was poor."

"Was not."

"It must have been; I mean, you're no further along with Evans than before!"

But James, who was now remembering how soft Lily's wine-red hair really was, just gave his friend a goofy smile, "No, that's not true at all."

"And how'd you figure _that, _Romeo?"

"Because she let me hold her."

* * *

James had his arms around Lily again. It was a beautiful summer day and they were sitting together under the oak tree by the Black lake, the sun streaming through the leaves into a kaleidoscope of elaborate patterns that fell all around them. Lily was comfortable and warm, and didn't mind when James gently pulled her into his lap. She didn't even mind when James to bent down and press a soft kiss just below her ear. In fact, the feel of his lips on her skin made her sigh before she could restrain herself. "James…"

"Yeah?" he murmured as his mouth slid down her neck, coming to rest at her shoulder. Lily closed her eyes and shivered, then a thought floated into her head completely unbidden: wasn't this _exactly_ what she had been dreading(hoping) he'd do that the night he'd prevented her from falling?

She sat up and turned around to look at him appraisingly. He draped his arms around her waist and smiled at her, "Well, hello there, Miss Evans. What can I do for you?"

It was almost ridiculous how attractive the grinning git was at that moment. Hazel eyes sparkled in the sunlight and his smile beckoned. Lily felt a lovely warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach, along with a deep longing to lean in and just kiss him for hours... but before she could do anything, she heard an odd, vaguely familiar beeping noise.

Dreaming. She was _dreaming_.

* * *

Already the details of the scene were becoming hazy, but Potter's face remained vividly clear as everything else evaporated. Groggily, Lily opened her eyes and smacked her alarm clock until it shut off. As she did so, Lily realized that there was a foreign piece of paper on her usually clutter-free nightstand. Investigating, she immediately recognized the decidedly messy handwriting. There seemed to be no getting away from him, awake or asleep:

_Hey Lily Evans! _

_Just wanted to let you know that I finished this month's night patrol schedule for you. I know you've been studying NEWT material like mad, so you deserve a break!_

_James_

Lily frowned: that was _really_ thoughtful of him. She had almost forgotten about their nice-a-thon, and it's implications. But now, after last night, she got to thinking: what _if_ there was more going here than James simply trying to prove that he was the nicer of the two of them? What if he _wasn't_ simply trying to drive her crazy?

It was high time to look at the matter logically. Lily summed a spare piece of parchment and a quill from her book bag, and employed her favourite organizational tool to tackle the problem: she wrote a list.

- Potter gave up his seat at the library for me, brought me breakfast, and cured my cold

- Following these random acts of kindness, I initiated a nice-off

- James prevented me from falling after Peeves tripped me. I… remain in his arms for a short period of time

- I have a dream about him

Looking at her list appraisingly and as objectively as was possible, two things jumped out at the redhead. _One_: James obviously started being nice to her _long_ before she turned it into a contest, and he maintained that he had ulterior motive for doing so. Moreover, this had been going on for a while and he had done anything that was even the _least_ bit indicative of an evil plot.

_Two,_ she was undeniably... mildly attracted to him. Alright, so it was _more_ than mild attraction: it was stronger than anything she'd _ever_ felt before and nothing in the world made her happier than being with him. And that was when realization finally came, hitting her with all the force of a brick wall, "Good sweet _Merlin,_" she whispered, tightly gripping her list with disbelief, "I'm _in love _with the prat..."

A voice from the bed to her left startled Lily by replying, "Well, _duh_."

"Mary!" Lily exclaimed, jumping out of her bed to pull open the curtains of her friend's four poster, "You're not supposed to be up for another _hour_!"

The brunette rolled her eyes as she dragged herself up to a seated position, "Trust me, I'm _well_ aware. But your bleeding alarm clock got to me this morning, and _then_ I heard you say his name in your sleep."

"She said his _name_?" inquired a voice coming from the bed on Mary's other side. The Gryffindor red curtains to this bed also opened, and a groggy Alice emerged, scratching her head, "Does that mean she's admitted it then?"

"Yup," Mary answered, grinning now, "Her exact words were, _'I'm in love with the prat'_."

Alice shook her head, "No, I want to hear it from her," She turned to look Lily right in the eyes, and her expression was so cold sober that it was almost disconcerting, "Do you like him? _Do you like James_?"

Lily crossed her arms, "What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?"

"Answer her, Lily." Mary looked equally deadpan, so Lily gave up on being evasive.

Instead, she chewed her lip and thought back to the events of the past month. "Yes, Alice," she answered quietly, "I do."

"Oh, _Merlin_…"

The room was silent for a moment. Then: "Well finally!"

This came from one of the other two occupants of the room. She and the last girl opened their curtains and looked on as Lily hit herself on the forehead: why hadn't she just kept her big mouth shut? How could she have forgotten that _nothing_ was private in a girls dorm room.

"So… are you gonna tell him?" The first girl asked.

"Of _course_ she isn't," countered the second, "You can't go _four years_ telling a bloke to push off and then turn around and admit you like him."

"She said that she was in _love_ with him, actually," said the first. "Aw, I can't _wait_ to see the look on James's face when she tells him…"

"Me neither: he's _too_ adorable. Those _eyes_, and those sharp cheekbones, and that _jawline_!"

"Not to mention how _fit_ he is. That boy's got a _Quidditch body_."

_"Hey! _Don't talk about him that way! It's... demeaning." Lily surprised even herself at her outburst, but didn't regret it afterwards. Everything the girls had been saying was completely true of course, but it had still made the redhead blush to hear it.

Both girls blinked, then they exchanged a look and squealed, "_Awwwwwww_! Isn't that just the _cutest_ thing you've ever seen?" And then they all (Mary and Alice included) burst into a fit of giggles. They had been waiting a _long_ time for this day, and they'd be darned if they didn't take full advantage of its arrival.

* * *

During breakfast Lily caught herself scanning the Gryffindor table for James and feeling somewhat more upset than she really ought to when she was unable to spot him. Was she really _this _pre-occupied by James already? Or… had she _always_ subconsciously looked for him during breakfast?

It was of no consequence. Slamming the table with her fist – and completely startling the girls sitting next to her - Lily resolved right then and there to find James and declare that she had fallen completely and _hopelessly_ in… or on second thought, perhaps she'd just say that she didn't hate him anymore. Baby steps.

So, without any words of explanation to her distinctly ruffled friends, Lily got up from the table and marched back to the Gryffindor tower. Only when she had reached the steps to the boy's dormitories did she pause... Was she _really_ going to do this?

If she _did_, she might embarrass herself forever. If she _didn't_ well… she might miss her chance at being with the _only _boy who she had never been able to stop thinking about.

"Up the stairs it is, then." Lily whispered to herself, "What's the worst thing that could happen, right?"

The door to the seventh year boy's dormitories was wide open. Tentatively, Lily peered inside…. Empty. Still, she knocked on the door gently. No reply.

Lily released the breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding. James wasn't here…. But after the initial wave of relief passed, she was left with mild disappointment. It was an honest shame to have wasted that burst of courage on nothing. Here she was, adrenaline pumping and full of determination to finally admit that she liked Po – James, and the git didn't even have the decency to be in his room waiting for her!

As these thoughts manifested themselves, Lily gazed into the room and idly wondered which bed was James'. It certainly wasn't the neatly made one on the far side, the only one whose trunk contained neatly folded piles of clothes and books. Nope: that had Remus written all over it. The one to the left of Remus' was Sirius' for sure: it was adorned with posters of motorcycles and girls in skimpy bikinis.

This left three final beds. They were all relatively unremarkable, except… _Hang on_…

The redhead had caught sight of a tiny golden ball flitting between the curtains around the bed by the window. Without thinking, Lily walked closer to examine it. And _yes_: it was a golden snitch. It was James Potter's own private golden snitch.

"Oh!" The ball caught Lily by surprise by zooming up to hover just in front of her nose. Then it dove to circle her ankles. Following the little golden orb's movements with her eyes was how Lily happened to see that her shoelace was untied… but _more importantly_, she noticed the mass of gossamer material spilling out of James' trunk. Kneeling to examine it, Lily couldn't keep herself from gasping: she knew what this was. She knew _exactly_ what this was.

"Of _course_…" she whispered softly, fingering the silken material, "That ruddy git! It's no _wonder_ they never get caught…"

It was then that Lily Evans heard the noise that would haunt her for the rest of her days: a creaking door. But it wasn't the door she'd entered from, _no_. It came from the opposite side of the room: someone had been in the bathroom the entire time.

"Oh, _Merlin_..."


	6. The Worst Possible Thing

Hey folks! I feel it's only fair to remind you that Lily _is_ somewhat bonkers in this story, and acts accordingly =P

* * *

It was then that Lily Evans heard the noise that would haunt her for the rest of her days: a creaking door. But it wasn't the door she'd entered from, no. It came from the opposite side of the room: someone had been in the bathroom the entire time.

"Oh, _Merlin_..."

Not pausing the think it through, Lily yanked the invisibility cloak over her head and turned to see who had emerged from the bathroom. And of course, who else could it be but James Potter. And of course, he chose _now_ – the very morning she realized that she had a hopeless crush on him – to come out shirtless, and fresh from a shower.

_No… __no_, Lily derided herself, _you are __not__ to check him out_! _Nor are you to fantasize about just running your fingers up and down those Quidditch abs for hours…. Focus! You should be trying to get out of here_.

So Lily forced herself to look up instead. This also proved distracting: _Aw, sweet Merlin look at him with his hair all wet and messy, and falling into those indescribable hazel eyes. It's so much easier to admire those lashes when he's not wearing his glasses. _

James was softly humming to himself, completely oblivious of the inner turmoil occurring just meters from him on the other side of his bed. Lily gulped: surely it was only a matter of time before he felt the panic vibrations coming off of her.

But no, James looked completely nonchalant as he plucked his wand from his bedside table and summoned a shirt from his trunk. As he donned it and began doing up the buttons, Lily wondered why her legs refused to move. Surely if she was quiet enough, she just _might_ be able to sneak out… but then again she _hadn't_ come here just to steal his invisibility cloak had she? Even though it would serve the toerag right – all those times he'd gotten off scott free leaving Lily completely at a loss as to how he did it! And all of those times when she'd caught glimpses of him and his friends at prank scenes and sounded like a crazy obsessive psycho when telling professors, "I _saw_ them Professor! Honestly, they were _right there_, you have to believe me!"

Oh, _Merlin_, she'd allowed herself to zone out. James was now on the same side of the bed as her, leaving her trapped between him, two four poster beds and the closed window. She inched back as silently as she could, until she was crouching with her back to the glass pane, but James – curse him – seemed to be in no hurry to move. Nope, he was admiring the view of the grounds through the window, seemingly peering right through Lily's forehead. When had he put his glasses on? Scratch that – not important.

James continued gazing outside, a faraway look in his eyes. What could _possibly_ be that beautiful out there? He proceeded to come closer to the window and Lily inwardly cursed again … if she shifted just the _tiniest_ of smidgens now, she'd be unable to avoid brushing against him.

Why oh _why_ hadn't Lily just _left_ while she still had the chance?

Just as Lily was beginning to lose hope, however, James pulled back and began to roll his sleeves up to the elbows.

Thank _goodness_, Lily exhaled silently. Having learned her lesson now, she noiselessly slid up the wall to a standing position. Then she tiptoed towards the – "DRAGON'S _ARSE_!"

Alright, so she _didn't_ tip-toe. Instead, Lily tripped on the shoelace she'd forgotten to tie and fell smack dab into James, knocking them both the floor with a loud _thump_.

"Bloody _Hell_! _Lily_?" James looked more stunned than Lily had ever seen the normally self-assured bloke. Then again, he _had_ thought he'd been alone, and he _had_ just been knocked over by an invisible person. Some shock was understandable.

Lily, for her part, had never been more embarrassed in her life. Why could the ground just swallow her right up, and spare her having the impending and most likely painfully humiliating conversation? Then again, if the ground _did_ open up, James would probably fall in with her. And then they'd have _all eternity_ to talk about this: A decidedly unpleasant prospect all around.

Not waiting for a reply, James reached up and pulled the invisibility cloak away, revealing a brightly blushing Head girl. "Lily, _what_ are you _doing_ in here?"

Think, Lily, _think_! "I, er… drugs bust?"

"_What_?"

Trying her best to regain her composure, Lily climbed up off of James. He stood as well, eyeing her with utter disbelief, and Lily swallowed, "It's a _drugs bust_, Potter. I got wind of there being _illicit substances_ kept in this dormitory, and decided to investigate."

Raising an eyebrow and looking thoroughly unconvinced, James spoke, "Is that so."

Lily nodded, perhaps a bit too emphatically, "Absolutely."

But James only chuckled a little. Then he began walking towards her, and it was at this point that Lily realized: she was _still_ trapped between those two blasted beds, the wall and the bespectacled boy

"Well, I don't believe you Lily…." James admitted as he approached. Lily's back hit the wall again, and James stopped inches in front of her, "I think," he continued, "That you just came up here to see _me_."

They were close again, _too_ close: Lily could smell the soap from his shower, and some sort of spicy aftershave. His gold-flecked hazel eyes locked onto her emerald ones, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly with amusement. He cupped her face with his hand, and when she didn't push it away, stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"Lily," James whispered her name, and she tried her best not to show the shivers that it sent down her spine. His eyes had flickered down to rest on her mouth, and Lily subconsciously leaned towards him. This was happening, _here and now_. That magnetism she had felt when he held her was back… it was almost _ridiculous_ how badly she wanted to grab his collar, pull him in and finally snog James senseless. But then, _just_ before James could close the distance between them, Lily panicked.

"_Depulso_!"

"_HEY_!"

Lily had whipped out her wand and jinxed James back, right into one of his bed posts. His head hit the wood with a loud _thud_ and Lily cringed: _oops_. Well. That was just about the _worst_ thing that she could possibly have done…

"Are. You. Bloody. _Mental_?!" The dark haired boy glowered, once his initial shock wore off. Rubbing the back of his head, he glared at her, "What was _that_ for?"

"Hey!" Lily cried out defensively, "I had to do _something_! You can't just corner a girl like that!"

"_Corner_ you? _You're_ the one who was _spying_ on me from under my invisibility cloak! I mean what was _that_ all about?"

Now Lily was angry, "Spying on you? I wasn't _spying_ on you, you narcissistic _prat_!"

"Could have fooled me," James shot back, "And you know what? It was darn right _creepy_. I mean, how do I know that this was the first time you did it?"

"_Merlin_, Potter," Lily exclaimed, feeling more than a little hurt, "How could you _possibly_ believe that I'm the sort of girl who'd _do_ something like that? And to _think_, I came _all the way up here_ to…."

But to James' frustration, Lily realized what she was saying and stopped before she could finish the sentence: "Never mind. _Goodbye_ Potter," And she pushed past James to storm from the room and down the stairs

"Came up here to _what_?" James called, following her to the landing where he had to stop: she had run up to the girl's dormitories, and he couldn't climb those enchanted stairs. "Tell me what you were going to say!"

"It doesn't matter anymore, Potter." Lily shouted over her shoulder, stomping into her room and slamming the door behind her. How could she _ever_ had thought that she liked the jerk?

Back at the landing, James let out a groan of frustration: Lily had been in his room. She had been spying on him from under the invisibility cloak. He had tried to kiss her, and she'd been about to let him… when she changed her mind and blasted him into a bedpost. So… exactly _how_ the holy _hippogriph_ had this encounter ended with _Lily_ being mad at _him_?

He sighed once more, looking up to the high heavens as if for an answer, but got none. Lily Evans was mental, _bloody_ _mental_... But he loved her all the same. So, as James headed back to his room – making a mental note to himself to tell Sirius that he needed to find a new hiding place for his stash of Muggle weed - his resolve to win her heart wasn't the least bit deterred.

* * *

Thanks for reading! And anyone who reviews gets their choice of cookies or having a James of their _very own_ to corner =]


	7. And then it got Worse

To her great relief, Lily didn't see James for the rest of the day. To her great irritation, her friends didn't stop mentioning him for that same length of time:

"Lily, stop pruning that blasted _fireweed_ and tell me what happened this morning!" Mary pestered during their final class of the day, "We _know_ that you went up to see him during Breakfast, and then during Potions you announced that you had 'recovered from your momentary lapse in judgement and let go of your silly infatuation'… so, what went wrong?"

Lily didn't look up from the plant she was working at – partially because it had a nasty habit of bursting into flames if you cut it carelessly, but mostly to hide her embarrassment, "I told you Mary, _nothing_ happened. And if something did…. I'm not really in the mood for sharing."

To be honest, Lily didn't think that she would _ever_ be in to mood to share the details of this particular incident with _anyone_. What the _bloody hell_ had she been thinking? Thanks to her complete and utter inability to think on her feet, James thought that she was some sort of deranged stalker. And as if that wasn't enough, now she had to deal with the knowledge of how good he looked up close and shirtless. And exactly how good did he look up close and shirtless, one may ask? Answer: _Damn _good.

Moreover, by now Lily had realized that she was in no way justified for getting angry at James. He, however, had reached just the opposite conclusion:

"Mate, I think I've messed up my chances for good this time," he whispered to Sirius, who was still having trouble believing his best friend's story.

"Let me get this straight," he began, with a look of one long suffering, "You caught Lily Evans spying on you from under the cloak _right after you took a shower_? Are you sure you weren't just _hallucinating_ as a result of prolonged and severe wishful thinking or something?"

"Pads, be _serious_!"

"… Honestly? You couldn't think of _any_ other way of phrasing that?" Sirius snorted, "It's like you _enjoy_ hearing me make bad puns, Prongs."

James rolled his eyes, not at all in the mood to have this conversation again, "Look, I'm having an _Evans_ crisis here, Pads!"

"What else is new?"

"For the love of _Merlin_, will you just help me out? We were doing so well, and then she just - "

"Snuck into your dorm to try and get a glimpse of you in the shower," Sirius finished for James, "Then hexed you."

James blushed, "That's _not_ what she was doing, Padfoot."

"Then what the bloody hell _was_ she doing?"

"She said something about a drugs bust," James shrugged, "But that's not the point! I was so _close_…"

And it was then, as James whined yet _again_ about how miserable his life was, that Sirius had one of his rare revelations. He realized that the _only_ way he was ever going to put a stop to James' annoying little self-pity sessions was to get him and Lily together. So, he decided that the time had come for action.

_A few hours later…._

"Hey Mary, we need to talk."

The Gryffindor girl nearly jumped out of her shoes when she heard this voice. This was because she had been curled up in a solitary seat by the fire in the library, lost in a muggle book Lily had leant her – and as far as she knew, she hadn't told _anyone_ where she was. Besides, she knew that voice, and just hearing it was enough to get any girl's heart rate up:

"_Sirius_?" She looked up from her book and there he was, standing over her. _Gods_, was he ever handsome….

Ignoring her apparent surprise, Sirius summoned over a couch and sat down beside Mary. "Look," he began, leaning in to meet her gaze, "You need to talk some sense into your friend Evans."

"Oh!" Mary gasped with realization, "Of course! _James_ sent you didn't he?"

Sirius shook his head and frowned, "No. He didn't. I'm here because Evans is _bananas_ and it's obvious to everyone but her that she's bound to end up with James sooner or later. I mean, _you_ can see that she likes him can't you?"

"She's even told me as much."

Mary blurted these words without thinking, but it wasn't her fault, _honestly_: She had been caught off guard by Sirius's bloody _perfect_ hair! Inwardly she sighed: sorry Lily.

But now that she'd said them, she couldn't take her words back… and Sirius was grinning like a – somehow still attractive – madman. "She _did_? Brilliant! But then… why the holy _hippogriph_ aren't they together yet?"

Mary shrugged, "Because she'd never admit that she likes him– she's spent years and years pretending she doesn't, remember?"

"Then we'll just have to figure out a way to make her admit it, wont' we?" Sirius said, more to himself than to Mary.

"How?" she asked dubiously, "You've _no_ idea how stubborn Lily can be."

But Sirius wasn't listening to her anymore. Nope, armed with his newfound knowledge of Lily's true feelings, he was plotting (Oh holy hippogriph, was he ever _drool-worthy_ when he was thinking!) And after a few minutes of intense thought, he just about had it…

"Sirius, what are you thinking about?" Mary finally called to him, "Sirius?... Woah, why are you _smiling_ like that?"

The dark haired boy snapped out of his reverie just as quickly as he had fallen into it, "_I've got it_! I'm a bona fide _genius_, I honestly am. Sirius Orion Black, _Super Genius_."

Just then, he seemed to remember that Mary was still sitting right beside him. Accordingly, he turned to lock his eyes on hers, "Hey Mary, You're Lily's friend, so you want her to be happy don't you?"

"Er, yeah…"

"Well listen then. I _know_ James, and if Lily's with him he'll never let her feel anything _but_ happy – he wouldn't stand for anything less. So… will you help me get them together?"

After him saying _that_, and with those silvery eyes gazing into hers so earnestly, how could Mary possibly say anything other than, "Of course!"

It wasn't until Sirius had left and his effect on her had dissipated that she began to wonder exactly _what_ she had agreed to.

* * *

Lily _loved_ roses. Her father always brought her mother burnished red roses on their anniversary, and her grandmother (the nice one), had a garden that overflowed with them in the summertime. This deep and rare sentimentality that Lily held for the flowers was _exactly_ why she was so upset by the perfect, fully bloomed rose left on her nightside table with a note from James that night. It was possibly the most beautiful, velvety and fragrant red rose she'd ever seen, and she could hardly refrain from burying her nose in it's soft petals and breathing it in.

The note read:

Hey Evans,

I'm so sorry about everything that happened this morning. I wish I could just undo it all, honestly. Anyway, I'll take your shift patrolling tonight – and don't' try to talk me out of it, I want to do it

~ James

It was scrawled so messily in contrast to the perfection of the rose that Lily had to smile: James had the absolute _worst_ handwriting of anyone she'd ever known. Of course, this had always annoyed her, but right now all she could think about was the fact that James had touched this piece of paper, and had written it for her just hours before. She traced the uneven letters and blotches of excess ink with her fingers.

Oh, _why_ did he have to be so bloody _nice_ to her all of the time? If anyone owed anyone an apology, it was her – and here James was sending her flowers and doing her work for her. It was _unacceptable_.

Lily got back up out of bed and summoned her Head Girl badge from her trunk. Pinning it to her robes, she left to tell James that she refused to let him take her shift. She had barely made it two steps out of the common room though, when her friend Mary came running up to her with a frantic look in her eye, "Lily! Thank goodness I found you!"

"What happened?" Lily asked, shaken. Mary _never_ got worked up over little things: something must have been terribly wrong.

"It's _James_!" Mary exclaimed, "He was on patrol near the woods, then something got him!"

Lily felt her blood run cold, "What do you mean?" she asked, gripping her friend's arm tightly, "_What was it_? Is- is he alright? _Where is he now_!?"

"Hospital wing," was the only reply Mary gave as she tried to pry her arm from Lily's grasp, but it was also the only one Lily needed. The redhead took off running in the direction of the hospital wing, suddenly feeling very ill. Her stomach was a writhing knot of worry, and more than a little bit of guilt… and it was all she could do to keep herself from throwing up.

* * *

Still reading? Have a moment? Wanna review? Lovely!


	8. In the Hospital Wing

When Lily arrived at the hospital wing, panting and heart racing, James was unconscious. His head was bandaged and even through his Quidditch tan, she could see that he was paler than normal. Lily sat down in the chair by his bed and took his hand.

"Oh _James_," she whispered, looking down at the dark haired boy. He seemed so helpless and _small_ lying there, without his glasses and his usual lopsided grin… and yet, he also looked strangely serene and beautiful. Lily found herself unable to tear her gaze from his face, taking in everything from that tiny mole above his left eyebrow to his long lashes to his cupid's bow mouth. Unable to help herself, Lily reached out to brush some of James unruly hair off of his forehead. He didn't feel overly warm or cold, but as Lily didn't know what affliction he was suffering from, she didn't know whether or not that was a good sign.

"If _anything_ happens to you, I'll never forgive myself," Lily murmured softly, continuing to stroke James' hair. And it was true: this was all completely and unavoidably her fault. By all rights, it should have been _her_ out there, not him.

"They don't know if he'll make it."

Lily jumped out of her seat and away from James like a criminal caught red handed. Turning around, she saw Sirius Black standing behind her and looking uncharacteristically solemn, "Oh! I didn't notice you there Sirius."

Sirius noticed her blushing and forced himself not to smirk. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you Evans."

"What's wrong with him? Do you – I mean, is he…. Is he going to be alright?"

Sirius had never heard Lily falter like that, and she looked positively _ill_. She looked so troubled, that for a moment, he considered calling the whole thing off and trying something different… but then he thought of James, and how bloody _happy_ he would be if the plan succeeded. So, on with the show it was:

"Pomphrey isn't sure yet. Something in the forest got to him, and when we found him it was too late to determine exactly what it was. We just saw James passed out by himself."

Lily's reply was a very small, "Oh," followed by her stealing a sidelong glimpse of James. Merlin, she could hardly keep her eyes off of him! Sirius gave himself an inward high five – he was a _genius_. He was a veritable love _guru_, he was. Had there ever been anyone so wonderfully clever and handsome and…

"Well, er," Sirius continued, struggling to stay in character, "I'm going to go tell Remus what happened. I'll be back later."

After waving goodbye to Sirius, Lily waited until he was completely out of view to resume her place next to James.

_They didn't know what was wrong with him. _Lily couldn't remember a time when she had felt so lost, so scared. She found herself trying to imagine life without James Potter, and realized – she _couldn't_. Between her complaining about James, arguing with James, laughing with James and dreaming about James, he was such a large part of her life that it would be a joyless, hollow shell without him.

Giving his warm hand a small squeeze, Lily felt her voice catch as she whispered, "You had better be alright, toerag. _Understand_?"

Because she had to get her feelings out somehow, and because there was no one else in the room, Lily allowed herself to speak a little bit louder, "Don't you ignore me, Potter. Now listen to me and listen well, because I won't be saying it again. I –"

But Lily stopped speaking because James had let out a little moan and shifted slightly, "Potter?"

He didn't respond, but Lily took the fact that he had moved as a good sign, "Good. So you're listening then. Now as I was saying," Lily continued, "You're the most _stubborn prat_ I know, and if you're not stubborn enough to fight this illness off, then I don't know who is. And you had better do it too, or I'll…. Well, I'll _miss_ you, that's all. I'll …" Lily swallowed, forcing down the tight lump that was forming in her throat,"I'll miss you terribly. Also… I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry that I caused this to happen to you, James. And I'm sorry for getting mad at you for something that was _clearly_ my fault. And I'm sorry…."

Lily trailed off, unsure how to adequately phrase what she wanted to say. Even though he couldn't hear her, she wanted, _needed_, to get this right, "I'm sorry that I never told you the truth about how I feel about you. You were right, you were _absolutely_ right when you said that I was just too proud to admit that I liked you. But now that you…. " Lily felt her eyes dampen, and blinked back a tear as she held his hand still tighter, "_Merlin_, James, what if I never get the chance to tell you that I'm in love with you?"

James, started, his hazel eyes opening wide and taking in his surroundings, "_Woah_, what? How did I… Padfoot, I am going to _murder_ you!"

Lily, for her part, just about had a heart attack, "_James_? Were you awake the whole time? You bloody _**prat**_!"

He turned to look at her, as if just noticing her presence, "Lily? Were _you_ in on this too?"

"_What_?"

Still fuming, James explained, "Look. I was just minding my own business and doing some homework (not bloody likely, Lily thought to herself), when Sirius, Remus and your friend _Mary_ showed up, disarmed me, said something about this being for my own good and _Stupefied_ me, bloody nutters. When I get my hands on them…"

James continued to mutter incoherently, and then a look of realization crossed his face. Without warning, he proceeded to grab a very confused Lily by the shoulders and pull her close so he could peer into her eyes. "Lily," he said urgently, "I think I've got it!"

"Got what? And let _go_ of me, you complete – "

"When I was out, I had a dream that… were you talking to me at all?"

Lily felt her blush returning with a vengeance, "Er, well I, I may have said _something_. Why?"

For some reason, this admission seemed to make James very, _very_ happy. His dazzling grin came out of hiding and, without even the slightest warning, he pulled Lily close to him, crushing her to his chest. For just a moment, Lily forgot herself and snuggled up to him, but then the surprise wore off and she remembered to push herself out of his arms, "Watch it, you _lunatic_! What did you do _that_ for?"

"Because," James answered, wide smile still locked in place, "I love you too."

Lily froze. She couldn't seem to get her tongue to move, she was so stunned. He _had_ heard everything she had said.

She must have appeared somewhat dismayed, because James was suddenly horrified too, "_Oh sweet Merlin, no_… I _**did**_ just dream the whole thing up, didn't I?"

Lily couldn't find her tongue, so she merely continued gaping at him: Was this _actually_ happening? Or had Lily _actually_ died of mortification and gone to heaven? Ah well, she supposed that there were worse ways to go... No wait, spoke the voice of reason in Lily's mind, she _couldn't_ be dead yet, because James was backtracking: if it were heaven, he would have been snogging her by now...

"Look, I'm _sorry_, Lily. I didn't mean to press something like that on you, I just – "

But he was cut off by Lily doing the most logical thing she could think of: grabbing his collar in two fists, yanking him over and finally kissing him firmly on the mouth. It wasn't the best kiss in the world – it was too rough and messy for that - but James saw honest to goodness _stars_. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled back a little so he could initiate a second, more gentle kiss. Tentatively, he tasted her soft lips, stroked her hair and soaked up that _wonderful_ glowing warm feeling that coursing through his veins – He was kissing Lily Evans. _Lily Evans_ was tangling her fingers in his hair and sighing into his mouth.

James didn't break the kiss until he realized how badly he needed air – and then too he seriously considered just passing out instead of stopping.

As they both regained their breath, and stared at each other in awestruck silence, Sirus, Remus, Peter and Mary burst into the room: "Well done you two!" Sirius proclaimed, "You've finally done it!"

"Although truth be told," Mary added wryly, "We practically did it _for_ you."

The four of them snickered, and when James turned to Remus for support, the young werewolf only shrugged, "She's got a point."

Lily tried to refrain from laughing along with them, but she was so happy that she simply couldn't. Then she composed herself (as best she could, considering how tangled up she was with James), and spoke with mock indignation, "Mary, I can understand _them_, but I can't believe that _you_ were a part of this scheme!"

"Scheme!" Sirius exclaimed, looking hurt, "We only had your best interests in mind, dear Lily."

"Yeah," Mary agreed, "If I'd allowed you to pen up your feelings for much longer, we'd have had to send you to St. Mungo's."

Lily, who was now wondering exactly how she had ended up on Jame's bed, stuck her tongue out at her friend, "Me? _I'm_ not the one who belongs in St. Mungos: you helped the Marauders to kidnap James!"

"Yeah, but that was just the once. You're mental _all_ of the time."

"Am not!"

James laughed beside her, and Lily felt it as much as heard it. "Lily," he began, "You have a 'spot' that you have to sit in _every time_ you study,"

"That's not fair, I"

"You got angry at me for being nice to you"

"Not _angry_, per se…"

"You tried to get back at me by proving that you were even _nicer_,"

"A perfectly normal response, I'd say,"

"And," James concluded, "You held a _drugs raid_ in my room using my invisibility cloak. Then hexed me."

Lily blushed, "Yeah, I'm really, _really_ sorry about that."

James leaned in to kiss her lightly on the nose, "Don't worry about it."

Butterflies. There were _butterflies_ in Lily's stomach, and she nestled in even closer to James.

Just then, an enraged Madame Pomphrey burst into the Hospital wing, brandishing her wand at all of them, "Black!" she shouted, "_There_ you are! You lied to me, Professor McGonagall is perfectly well!"

Sirius feigned complete confusion, "What are you talking about, Madame Pomphrey?"

"You told me that she'd taken violently ill!" Madame Pomphrey all but shouted, "That she needed _immediate_ attention! Not only did it take me _two hours_ to track her down – why she insists on wandering the grounds as a blasted _cat_ is beyond me – but then it took me another half hour to convince her to let me give her a full examination! And then it turned out that there wasn't a thing wrong with her! Not a _sign_ of the Gobloots in her blood or intestinal tract! My entire evening was wasted!"

"But I-"

"What if a student had actually _needed_ me, Black?!"

Sirius suddenly looked sincerely apologetic, "I'm sorry, that was my mistake. It's just… I couldn't _bear_ it if anything happened to my favourite Transfiguration professor. And I couldn't think of _anyone _to turn to for help but you." He finished this little speech by shooting Madame Pomphrey a ridiculously charming smile, and Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Pish posh," Madame Pomphrey huffed, though she looked decidedly pleased, "I know that you lot just wanted me out of here. But I do need to get back to work now, so out with you!"

Sirius grinned, "Fair enough. Thanks for everything Poppy baby!"

He shot her a parting wink, and then they all hurried out before the good mediwitch could reprimand him.

* * *

And that's all folks! Well.. actually, I might write an epilogue to wrap it all up, but don't want to promise anything yet. As always, thanks for reading!


	9. Epilogue

First off, a great big thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this story. I actually wrote _most_ of it during a very stressful time, and because it helped me to unleash my stifled creative side and because writing it _always_ helped me feel a bit better about life, it is very dear to me.

Anyway, happy reading =]

* * *

The following morning, Lily awoke with a start when she heard someone lightly tapping on her window. Heart pounding, she grabbed her wand from her night side table, crept to the window and wearily peered out to see - "_Oh_!"

And then her heart rate start beating even faster. But it wasn't fear that had her blood pulsing: it was the fact that James Potter was sitting on a broom right outside her window.

She hurried to undo the clasps on the window frame and jumped back as a gust of wind swung it wide open. Luckily, none of her roommates heard it.

"James!" Lily shout-whispered to the grinning Marauder, "What on _Earth_ are you doing here? It's still dark outside!"

"Can I come in?"

"Of course not! This is a girl's dorm." Then Lily realized something, "Hang on… you've been sneaking in here to deliver me notes and things to me all semester haven't you? _Merlin_ Potter, what if you came in on someone when they weren't decent? I can't believe that you'd - "

"Cool it, would you?" James chuckled, "I did nothing of the sort."

"But then how – "

"I had _Mary_ deliver those things to you."

Lily couldn't keep from laughing, "So she's been your accomplice from the start then, has she?"

James gazed at Lily fondly, "Are you complaining?"

"Well, no, but… oh, _what_ did you come up here to tell me anyway?"

"If I can't come in," James whispered, not seeming to hear her, "Can you come out?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"If you must know…" Lily faltered, "I'm, er… I'm afraid of heights."

James shook his head, "That's no excuse. Now come _on_." He flew in so that he was right up next to her window sill, "Put your arms around me, Lily."

"No."

"Lily. You're the toughest girl I know! Just hold on to me now."

"No."

"I'll make it worth your while, I _promise_."

Lily swallowed, "Well... alright." And she slid her arms around him, holding him so tightly it made James smile.

"Good, now swing one leg over the broom, there's a good Head girl."

"Oh stuff it!" Lily replied, but she followed his instructions. She hoped he couldn't feel her shaking, but even if he did, he didn't mention it.

Then James pulled up on his broom, and Lily's other foot was no longer on the ground. They were only hovering now, but Lily was already afraid.

"Are you ready?"

Lily shook her head, "_No_, but go ahead."

And they took off! It was all Lily could do not to scream as James took them into a dive parallel to the Gryffindor Tower, pulling up to detour over the castle turrets and then head for the starlight-reflecting lake. Then he began to accelerate. Faster, _faster_, until Lily could no longer make out the scenery they were tearing past. She could hold it in no longer, Lily screamed, "JAAAAAAAAAAAAAMES!"

But it wasn't fright, it was _exhilaration_, and James let out a shout of pure joy as well. He pulled up on his broom and took them into a loop, then zoomed towards the shining crescent moon as Lily laughed and held on tighter. She was having too much fun to be scared now, and the wind whistling through her ears and hair sounded like freedom. Besides, with her arms locked around James she felt safer than she had in a long time.

James finally took them down beside the old oak tree, landing more gently than Lily believed possible. Once they'd landed, he turned to speak to her. He looked so uncharacteristically serious that Lily had to hold in a snort, "Lily," he began , "I actually did have something I wanted to tell you."

"Go ahead then."

"Well, er….This morning I realized that we didn't _actually_ confirm where we stand, and I want to be absolutely sure about it."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "About what?"

"About… you know…" James' hand flew up to ruffle his hair, and he looked slightly uncomfortable.

Genuinely confused, Lily shrugged, "No, I don't."

"Lily…. Are we officially dating or not?"

Lily burst out laughing – James was so terribly adorable when he was unsure of himself, it was all she could do not to smother him with kisses again, "Bloody hell, Potter! Of _course_ we're dating! I mean, we had _better_ be"

Letting out a sigh of relief, James smiled that infectious smile of his, "Thank goodness. Because I'm not sure if I'd be able to go through coming up with yet _another_ plan to win you over and having it fail."

Lily smirked, "You're lucky you have Sirius, you know that? He truly _does_ know the way to win a woman's heart."

James shook his head, "Are you _kidding_? Do you know what his very first piece of advice was, when I asked him to help me win you over?"

Lily shook her head, and James felt the corners of his mouth turn up, "Be _nice_ to her. Just be really _nice_ to her and she'll melt for sure."

"… That was _Sirius's_ idea? This whole thing started because _Sirius_ told you to be _nice_ to me?"

James nodded sheepishly, "Er, well… Yeah."

And Lily burst out laughing: So _that_ was why James had become the ultimate sweetheart overnight! Suddenly, the world made _perfect_ sense again. Well, except for the fact that _now_, she could kiss him whenever she wanted to. So, she did.

"You know it's funny," Lily murmured - after they'd finished a snogging session that was significantly more fervent than the first, "I suppose I tried the exact same thing on you."

"What thing?" James asked, looking mildly punch drunk from the kisses.

"Being really nice. I suppose it didn't work on either of us."

"That's because you're bonkers, Lily."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Gee, I _wonder_ why…"

Lily made a face at him, "Oh, _shut up_. You're just as mental as I am."

"Lily, I love you."

"I _know_ that, you nutter, we had _that_ conversation yesterday!"

James crossed his arms and pouted, "Wrong answer! Say you love me too."

"I love you too, you prat!"

James positively beamed at her, "Say it again."

"I love you too you prat."

He reached up to pass his fingers through her messy hair. Lily realized that she probably looked terrible, having just woken up and all, but James was eyeing her with nothing but reverence.

"Just say it _once_ more," he whispered, putting his other arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. And just like that, he put that warm, fluttery butterfly feeling back into her stomach. Wrapping her arms around him, Lily looked up into James' eyes,

"I love you too, James_. _I _really_ do."

* * *

And that's the end - for reals this time. I hope you liked it =]


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